Nunsensations

If I had to choose one line from the Talent Company production of Nunsensations to sum up the show, it would be when the sisters sing the lyrics, "We're here to bring you fun and fluff."

Which is pretty much what you'd expect from a bunch of vaudevillian nuns in a Vegas cabaret trying to raise money for their parish. (And there's your ten peso plot, while we're at it.)

Photo provided by Erin RaceJust some of the headpieces used by the ladies in Nunsensations.

Director/choreographer Ken Prescott has assembled a talented cast that is more than up to the task of keeping the audience in stitches (and good-natured groans) throughout the evening. Sister Mary Regina (Christine Lightcap), Sister Mary Hubert (Kate Huddleston), Sister Robert Anne (Jodie Baum), Sister Mary Amnesia (Erin Race), and Sister Mary Leo (Sofia Coon) go full out with torch songs, corny jokes, tap dancing, and even ventriloquism. The women are wonderful as an ensemble, but each one also gets her time to shine. Here are my favorite moments for each one:

Christine Lightcap: Sister Mary Regina leads the girls in shaking their respective shimmies during a number recounting her time in a burlesque show. ('The Fifth From The Right.')

Kate Huddleston: The dignified Sister Hubert taps her inner Chiffon in the playful doo wop number 'When the Chips Are Down.'

Jodie Baum: I see Jodie Baum on a cast list, and I can usually count on the girl belting one out before the evening's over. This show is no exception as Sister Robert Anne brings down the house with her 11 o'clock number 'Why Sing a Ballad?'

Erin Race: Two words - Holy Rollers. Which is not, in fact, what nuns use to curl their hair, but rather, a hilarious game show presided over by Sister Mary Amnesia. Some prizes include a Holy Toast bread stamp ("A miracle every morning!"), a Last Supper longbox, and a "Clergy - Do Not Ticket" parking decal. (More about that on the B-side...)

Sofia Coon: Who broke my heart with her sweet Act II song I Left Him There, all about a boy she used to date before she became a nun. If you've ever had doubts about the choices you've made in your love life, this one will tug at your heartstrings.

Geno Parlato and Billy Swenson - dressed as monks - help the sisters out by providing props and costume pieces, not to mention escorting sister Mary Annette onstage for her last number.

The set - comprised mainly of an elevated platform that holds the band and complete with rope lights and oversized Vegas touches like dice and poker chips - is a great playground for the ladies, and they make excellent use of the space. (Especially the staircase.) Since the nuns remain in their traditional black habits throughout (most of) the show, costumes focus mainly on Karen Procopio's outrageous Vegas-style headpieces and feather fans.

Bottom line: Nunsensations is pure entertainment. Catch it at the New Times Theatre through March 22.